luv4nursing

Just think, LPNs are nurses too and they only have 1 year of training....and believe it or not there are LPNs who can run circles around BSN grads as far as skills, knowledge, and experience. Ill be curious as to how this pans out over the years....it could turn out to be like the Hospitals phasing out LPNs thing....every so many years they say they are phasing them out (or forcing them to go back for their RN or leave), get rid of them all....then a few years later they hire them again. Its happened numerous times, but never really stuck. I sort of get the feeling this may be the case with ASN vs BSN. I have lived in FL, GA, and TN over the past 5 years and havent had an issue with being an ASN and getting a job. I am going back for my BSN in January, simply because I want to go back for my MSN in midwifery eventually. A BSN itself doesnt seem to serve any purpose for me other than a stepping stone to my MSN, since I have zero desire to work in management.

Love your post and I can relate in a lot of ways. First, I was an LPN and I was 27 when I went back for my RN. It was a bridge program so most were 2nd career (Respiratory Therapists, LPNs and Paramedics), therefore I was actually the 2nd youngest person in my class. Second, I also fell in love with all things birth when my son was born with a nurse midwife and aspire to become one after getting some experience. I just started working on an LDRP unit, which has been my dream since my first OB clinicals in school. Thirdly, my husband got laid off very shortly after our son was born so I can relate to that as well ;0) Speaking of bridge, you should do some research and add that to your list of options. Many L&D units use LPNs for couplet (mom/baby) care and also as scrub techs for c-sections. If you became an LPN you may be able to gain nursing experience on L&D. Then again, hospitals dont pay LPNs much more than their techs, so you may be better off becoming a CNA/Tech (whatever they call them in your region) or even getting on as a unit secretary or the person who does newborn hearing screenings (no credentials needed)...the key being, like you said, getting your foot in the door so that if they like you they will hire you when you finish nursing school. Best of luck on your journey! Keep us posted! :)

congratulations! Ive been applying for L&D jobs for the past 2 years myself with never even an interview...and finally got hired a couple of months ago and Ive never been happier as a nurse :)

what do you guys do when there is a c/s? Our minimum staff at night is 5 and a c/s takes 4 of them off the floor, leaving 1 person to watch the whole floor.

There are plenty of brilliant OB nurses out there who started in OB from the beginning. I value my med/surg experience and feel my learning curve is a little less steep, but if I had the opportunity to go into OB straight out of school I would have taken it in a heartbeat. I was miserable in my previous position and Im so much happier now that I finally have the opportunity to work in OB. OB is a totally different animal than any other area of nursing, so I feel kind of like I just graduated all over again, only this time Im excited and happy and WANT to learn everything there is to know about my job versus being in survival mode like I was in med/surg. Good luck to you, I was secretly hoping you chose OB if that is where your heart is! Who is to say you would have this opportunity later if you turned it down now....I got stuck in my position for nearly 3 years and had given up on ever getting into OB...its easy to get kind of trapped in med/surg sometimes.

there are plenty of other travel companies and possibly even a different recruiter with the same company out there if you want to travel later on down the road, but this opportunity may not come back around.

So, Belle.....what did you end up deciding??? :)

How would I go about becoming a provider in TN? Our system is called Tenncare here. I did private duty peds through an agency for a few years as an LPN and now Im an RN. My husband is in LPN school. I thought when he finishes we could both become providers.

Does it have to be in VA? I applied to University of Texas at Arlington's online program (no clinical requirement) and should be starting in January. Check the distance learning board, there are many programs that dont charge out of state tuition for online programs and dont require clinicals. Good luck!

Also consider peds home health. PSA (Pediatric Services of America) and Maxim Healthcare specialize in private duty peds with chronically ill kids. Most have g tubes and some have trach's and some are on vents. When I was an LPN and while I was in RN school I worked for companies like this. I was never interested in working at a nursing home, plus this type of position allowed me to study at work (I worked nights). Also check with your school, they may have some suggestions for you. Good luck!

Is there any way you can point me to the article? This sounds like a great idea for the unit I just started training on. Staffing is scarce and there are a lot of new grads and new to OB nurses and few experienced nurses left at the moment. This would be a great tool so us newbies can feel a little more comortable the first time we face these situations.

Ive applied to both about a month ago, and so far the process seems to be going much faster from University of Texas at Arlington bc I havent heard anything from Ohio University other than when I initially applied. Id love to hear from people in either of these programs. Ive read most of the posts I could find. One thing I like is that UTA will tell u what transfers, and from what I can tell you wont know from OU until well into the program kind of putting you in a corner bc you would be unlikely to back out once you already got some courses out of the way.

more than likely nothing will come of it. I remember getting reamed by a Dr as a new grad for not calling results on a low K+ level. It wasnt critical, but it was low and what I was taught in orientation was we had to call criticals. The nurse manager was at the desk at the time the doc was reaming me in front of everyone and she had my back.

Keep in mind you will more than likely train on days even if u are hired for nights because there are more learning opportunities....sadly nowdays most labors are scheduled inductions and scheduled c sections which happen during the day. At night u will see mostly spontaneous labor and emergency sections. If u prefer days and are offered it, is take the opp bc its not common to get hired on days in OB...too many nurses with seniority who would get the spot first. On my unit I know a nurse who is next up but has been waiting 7 years! I worked nights at my last job so I don't mind and it works for my family. I also really enjoy the differential! Id have to work extra to make up for the pay cut. I'm training on days now and pick up here and there on my old unit.

I politely beg to differ. LPN was a stepping stone to becoming an RN for me. I was in the process of taking my RN prereq's and was discouraged that the generic track RN program had a waiting list of about 2 years after completing the pre reqs. I could become an LPN in 1 year, make more than twice as much as my job at the time, gain valuable nursing experience, and earn a very decent wage while I furthered my education for an additional year in the LPN to RN bridge program. I got into an LPN program immediately, passed LPN school with flying colors and immediately applied and was accepted into the bridge program. While I was in the 11 month LPN to RN bridge, I worked a low stress job as a peds private duty nurse making close to RN salary, and was able to study at work. Win win situation and in the end I was an RN quicker than if I had waited to get accepted into the regular RN program. I wouldnt do it any differently if I had it to do over. It was a great option. 1 year lpn plus 1 year bridge is the same amount of school as a 2 year entry level RN program in the end.

gijen, I lived in Orlando for several years and took the LPN to RN bridge at Valencia CC. Is that where you are going? If you need an easy job while you are in school that is flexible, look into Maxim Home Healthcare (peds HH). Thats what I did when I was in the program. It was low stress, decent money, and I got a lot of studying done at work. I was able to maintain full time and more (sometimes 48 to 60 hours a week) throughout the program bc the job was so low key. I actually made more that year than I do now in another state as an RN, but thats bc I dont work much overtime now that I have a little one. Can you get the person who interviewed you to back you up that you were promised that they would work around your school schedule? If it comes down to choosing, school wins hands down.

I take that to mean that it is in fact your RN degree that they will use the gpa from. You sound a lot like me, I also took a LPN to RN bridge and my gpa was good (I think 3.4 or 3.5) but my overall gpa isnt so hot bc I was 18 the first time I tried to go to college and didnt take it seriously. I grew up when I finally decided to become a nurse. I gradated LPN school with the highest gpa in my class and made mostly As and a few Bs in the LPN to RN bridge. I think for you and I both it should be obvious that we matured enough to be strong students in the nursing curriculum, just took us a while to get on the right track ;0) Good luck to you!

My suggestion is to be a little bit of a pest...sometimes you have to make yourself known. Show up and introduce yourself to the nurse manager and "sell" yourself by letting her know you applied for the position and how much you really want to work there. At the very least email her even if you dont physically show up. I went thru the same thing and was very passive about it, applying to every position I saw for about a year. It wasnt until I started contacting the nurse manager that I finally got an interview and was able to get my foot in that way. IMO often when positions are posted, the manager has someone in mind but it is posted as a formality. If you make yourself known and try to get a rapport with the manager, next time a position is open you can email her again. For example the position I first applied to was filled but I was told that another position should be coming up in a few months and she would keep me in mind. When the next position posted I applied and then emailed her letting her know I was still very interested and requesting an interview, which was granted and I was hired. I think if I had not started going above and beyond simply applying and waiting, Id still be waiting now! Take the initiative and show enthusiasm ;0) Good luck!

How much nursing experience and/or OB nursing experience do you feel is needed to be a good CNM? Ive been a nurse for a few years, and just started working on an LRDP unit. It has been a long term goal to become a CNM, but it was something I put in the back of my mind when it didnt seem like I was ever even going to get my foot in the door in L&D. The other nurses I work with seem to have the opinion that only nurses who have been in OB for many years have the skills to be a competent CNM. Is this really the case? My other concern is I have a small child (2.5) and will likely have at least one more child in the near future...is it possible/doable with young kids due to the schedule? My husband is in nursing school so we would both be working odd schedules so childcare could be an issue. Either way, Im in the process of enrolling for BSN and will knock that out over the next year or so and go from there...just trying to decide if becoming a CNM is something I should pursue soon or wait until later on down the road when I have some years in OB under my belt and kids are at least in school..?

I took the bridge program at Valencia Community College in Orlando, totally online except exams (midterms, finals) and clinicals (1 12 hour clinical a week)...the first few weeks you have to be on campus a lot for "lab". Then at the end you have a preceptorship that is so many shifts following a nurse. You had weekly quizzes and discussion postings also. It was very doable and I commuted from Tampa the latter part of the year. Melbourne would be a similar commute. I would suggest the program to anyone! Good Luck!

check out the distance learning forum under the student section. A few popular, reasonably priced programs you may want to research are University of Wyoming, Ohio University, University of Texas at Arlington. There are more, but those are three that Ive been looking into and that are discussed a lot on the forums. Good luck! Maybe you can work in an outpatient surgery center or something like that since its M-F. If you work PRN at a hospital, Im pretty sure you dont have to meet a weekend requirement. Also when I was part time I was required 1 weekend a month, but Im sure that may be able to be negotiated with a manager who was understanding of your childcare situation.

Make sure you have solid answers, especially why you want to work there. Present yourself as confident and assertive. You want to get your point across that you really want to be there, you are upbeat, positive, and eager to learn, you will advocate for your patients and stand up for yourself when it comes to coworkers and the doctors (and be able to give an example of how you have done so in the past). Chemistry is important, more so than I thought...the manager wants to have a good feeling you will mesh well with her unit. I was in your shoes a few weeks ago and just started orienting on an LRRP unit...sooo sooo happy to finally get into OB, its what Ive always wanted to do! :) Good luck!

I am a CNM hopeful and I am interested in connecting with CNMs in my region to try to shadow and want to possibly train as a birth assistant. When I was living in GA, I went to a free standing birth center to have my son and they were going to hire me when I wanted to go back to work, but we had to move shortly after that when my husband lost his job. I have yet to find any CNM in the tri cities, which is discouraging. Ive just started working in L&D and the c section rate is 35% at my hospital. It is a very "medical" minded area. I was told by fellow nurses they rarely see patients come into the hospital in spontaneous labor and if they come in at 39 weeks they WILL be admitted and induced. I just applied to an RN to BSN program which I hope to start by January and it should take just over a year to complete. After that, I plan to apply to Frontier School of Midwifery. Any suggestions on locating CNMs in my community? Im worried if there are none or very few, if my family remains in this area I wouldnt be able to find a preceptor to work under. There is a free standing birth center in knoxville which is about 1.5 to 2 hours away....that is the closest that I know of. My other question is for those who worked as an OB nurse before entering midwifery....how can I try to block out the bad and focus on the important things I need to learn? How can I advocate for my patients when they dont know any better than to do along with what the doctor says? Is it pretty much too late once they come in? Usually their mind is made up and they just want the baby out....the time to effectively educate is prenatally...are my hands tied by the time they come in to have the baby? We also get a ton of drug addicted moms. Its heartbreaking.

I worked as an LPN for a couple of years doing peds private duty while I went back to school for my RN. I loved my job at the time and got a lot of satisfaction from it. When I got my RN, it had been drilled into my head that I needed to work in a hospital go get "real" nursing experience and to be marketable as a nurse bc I might lose all my skills working in the private duty homecare setting. Ive been working med/surg for the past few years and have hated just about every moment of it haha. I worked part time when my son was an infant for close to a year, but had to go full time when they raised the already expensive benefits to cost even more for part timers. We couldnt afford it anymore. When I was part time, it was tolerable, but still not enjoyable. "OK" was as good as it got for me. I have always wanted to work in L&D and I finally landed a job on an LDRP unit, which couldnt have come at a better time because I was very burned out in med/surg and was about to leave the hospital bc I had almost given up on getting into OB. Now that Im where I want to be I feel inspired to grow and learn as much as I can. I just applied to an RN to BSN program and I eventually would like to get my MSN, more than likely in Midwifery. It took a change to get me out of the funk I was in an excited about nursing again. I had no desire to go back to school at all until I got to change specialties...now Im excited and inspired again :)

Im a brand new LRDP nurse and just started orienting...but I took basic fetal monitoring and we were given similar statistics. I tend to be more in line with the midwifery model of care with little intervention and intermittent monitoring for low risk pregnancies. What I dont get is it is beng emphasized again and again that the most common complications are caused by medical interventions...yet we go on business as usual when evidence based practice is proving current standards to be ineffective. My hospital has an alarmingly high c section rate and it saddens me...